The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving programmed music to and from the Internet to subscribers of the programmed music, where the programmed music received by the subscribers includes targeted advertising according to predetermined criteria.
Public and network television and radio stations have for decades distributed proprietary copyrighted subject matter to the viewing and listening public without any charge due to the sponsorship and financing of these programs by various advertisers and/or governmental bodies. With television and radio broadcast, it is difficult if not impossible to deliver specific advertisement messages to finely selected audiences since audience targeting is possible only on the basis of broad geographical areas, e.g. the city of New York. It is impossible to target individuals, or individuals who share a common trait, e.g. a certain age range, educational background, etc.
In contrast, the Internet communicates (at least along a portion of its path) over personal communication lines, i.e. the telephone. This enables sending of tailored messages between the ultimate recipient of specific information and the source of the information, e.g. a website, an Internet Service Provider, etc. Traditionally, proprietary, e.g. copyrighted, information could be downloaded from the Internet. In most cases, charge accounts are established with an Internet Service Provider and the recipient of the proprietary data content pays for those services and/or information.
It is desirable to provide an Internet based system for the dissemination of valuable proprietary information free of charge, just as it is provided through network television and radio stations without any costs to the ultimate user/subscriber and with advertiser sponsorship thereof targeted to the subscriber.